Divergent

               I read and saw Divergent last week in theaters. I was sort of surprised in the beginning when she chose dauntless over abnegation, and how her brother chose a seperate path as well. The best moral I can take from the book and the movie is that fear your best friend, and your worst enemy. Even when they new what they were experiencing wasn't real, it still controlled them. It is obvious a utopian society is impossible, because you can't make everyone happy. and in trying to create a utopian society, you destroy the bad which makes us want a perfect world in the forst place. Without the bad, you no longer have reason to strive for the good, and even less to appreciate it.

Fahrenheit 451 Clarisse Sketch

            So far in the book Clarisse has been a mager influence on the main character Montag. I have pictured her as slightly skinny, blond with hair down to her mid back, and bright blue clear eyes. She has a long and thin face, and she is about 5' 8" tall. I always picture her as wearing a white sweater blouse with a diaginal rhoombus hole pattern. She is more curious than most people and tends to think and try things a lot more. She also seems to know a lot that others are not supposed to know.

              The most important quote said by Clarisse is not "Are you happy?"(Bradbury 10), but rather "If it rubs off, it means I'm in love, has it?" (Bradbury 22). This is because this is what gets Montag not just questioning her, and whether he is in love with his wife, but he also begins questioning the world around him. "You sound so very old." (Bradbury 30) is the most important quote said about or to Clarisse. This is because it is true. I believe she sounds so old because she knows things she isn't supposed to (hint the nightly "uncle" conversation). I believe she did not disappear or die by accident but because someone started to question her, or she knew too much.
     
So far, she has been the reason Montag has been questioning things, such as why he burns books that he realizes someone had to write and put their thoughts into. I believe had it not been for her involvement in the story, as well as the involvement of the operators, which made him question society, he would not be headed down the path he is now. The biggest influence in the book so far however has been Montags own thoughts when he is thinking about or questioning Clarisse or Mildred. This is because the deeper he digs into why, the more answers he needs.

Blog Reflections

My first blog post (http://petersenreadingblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/reading-blog-one.html) best exemplifies my reading, writing, and comprehensive capabilities, this is because in this blog I give specific details about the characters and the story. In this blog I connect the setting in the beginning of the book to my own cul-de-sac. I also explain how there is a lot more detail in the book than in the movie, and explain how the characters are a lot easier to understand. This meets the expectations of analysis because I evaluate and describe the book so far.

My goals for blogging and reading next trimester are to just simply do more of it. Next tri I won’t have marching band to attend every afternoon, so it will be easier to fit in time to read. Some areas I will need to improve on are my writing skills, because I am not capable of making stuff up to try to make something longer, I like writing in a straight to the point format. I will also need to work on my comprehensive capabilities, because I sometimes have trouble understanding who is doing or saying what.

Book Recommendations

               So far in my book in my book (halfway through) it has really been interesting to find out more about Harry and his friends and relatives than the movies tell. Now that I have actually been reading the book and thinking back to the movie I realize there are some things so far that are in the movie that are not in the book. I think the book is a lot more gripping and easier to latch onto the characters than the movie. Just the book itself is full of detail and description, and I have never latched on to a character in a book as much as I have in this. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a great read, or anyone who has wathced the movies but never read the books.

Reading Blog One

Harry Potter and the philosopher’s/sorcerer’s stone is about a boy named Harry Potter, who was born a wizard and thrown into a non-magical family after his parents were murdered by Tom Riddle, or Voldemort. I've watched all the movies, as I didn't want to be disappointed by my favorite parts from the books are left out in the movies, so i already know the main storyline. But my predictions for the book are that it will go into further detail than the movies as they usually do. My prediction for the first few chapters are that it will focus into more detail about why Harry is so special and the details of his life with his aunt and uncle and his cousin Dudley.

My only questions so far into the book are why the author chose to start the book off slowly, and why the first chapter is sort of dull or bland. The description and detail in the setting of the first few pages though reminds me a lot of a mixture of my neighborhood, and the street layout of the neighborhood from the movie The Purge. Every time I look out my bedroom window facing the cul-de-sac and see the street lamps which resemble those found in London, I immediately picture the beginning of the first movie. The street lamps in London look a lot like the ones in my neighborhood. The story line resembles my summer reading book in a way too. When Nora experiences the death of her brother, it’s almost like her parents don’t exist anymore. And when she goes off to school, she becomes friends with a boy and girl her age. The rest of the main storyline focuses a lot on magic like in Harry Potter.

I have enjoyed my blog book so farm, and plan on going through the Harry Potter series. The only questions I have for the fore coming books. Have fun commenting on this blog and i would like to know what the setting at the beginning of the first book or movie reminds you of.